1. The Field of the Invention
The field for this invention is in the area of storage containers and ejection mechanisms for disk-shaped media. More particularly, this invention relates to storage cases and ejection mechanisms for the compact disk ("CD") format commonly used as media for music and computer software.
2. Present State of the Art
There currently exists a number of different containers for holding and storing compact disks. The most common case, known as a jewel box case, consists primarily of a hinged box having a tray therein for placement of the compact disk. The tray has a center spindle with fingers to suspend the compact disk above the tray and away from the surfaces of the box to protect the compact disk from abrasion when transporting the case.
The jewel box case is best adapted for manufacture by separately injection molding the three constituent pieces (top cover, bottom box, and disk tray) and then using automated assembly machinery known in the art to assemble the three pieces along with any informational or promotional materials such as a lyric booklet that may be part of the final commercial package. During the assembly process, the disk-shaped media is also placed within the tray and the entire package is shrink-wrapped and easily made ready for retail display.
The jewel box case suffers from a number of significant disadvantages that make it somewhat inconvenient to use. For instance, the hinged cover must be opened in order to remove or replace the compact disk. The securement means used in the jewel box case to secure the cover in place with respect to the bottom box can be difficult to loosen, particularly with a single hand. Furthermore, once the jewel box case is opened, it is sometimes awkward to remove the compact disk from the center spindle that exerts force on the inner hole of the compact disk to suspend away from other case surfaces. Another problem with the conventional jewel box case is the potential for easy breakage due to the materials used in construction. The jewel box cases are usually made of polystyrene plastics that are relatively brittle making them susceptible to cracking when exposed to cold temperatures or breaking when dropped or subject to other shock forces.
The hinge design of the jewel box case typically requires two hands to gain access to the disk inside. While this normally does not present additional problems other than the inconvenience mentioned above, there are some situations that would benefit advantageously from a compact disk container that can allow access to the compact disk with one hand. For instance, an operator of a motor vehicle wanting to change music CDs while driving would be able to do so in a much safer manner if only one hand were removed from the steering wheel.
What is needed is a compact disk storage case that allows more convenient access to the stored disk-shaped media contained therein than the current hinged-box design commonly found. Ideally, such access to the compact disk is achievable through use of a single hand.
Furthermore, an inexpensive and convenient ejection mechanism that easily places a compact disk into and out of a storage container would be viewed favorably as a convenient feature. Such a feature would not only exhibit handy functionality but would also distinguish the case from those made by competitors. Additionally, while some forms of ejection mechanisms exist today, they are typically bulky, relatively complex, and expensive to manufacture when applied to retail storage cases to package music CDs, software CD-ROMs and other disk-shaped media products sold by mass distribution.
Furthermore, existing ejection mechanisms utilize compressed springs and other mechanical energy storage devices. Typically, a spring is compressed upon placing the compact disk into a storage container and the user ejects the compact disk by causing the compressed spring to extend outward thereby propelling a tray or other compact disk holding arrangement that puts the compact disk itself outside of the confines of the storage container thereby making the compact disk accessible. Besides the complexity of such an arrangement, fatigue and wear are common requiring the use of more expensive materials, making construction of the device prohibitively costly when using high quality components to achieve the required utility.
One problem encountered with mechanical energy storage devices occurs when storing a compact disk for a long period of time. During long-term storage the spring or other energy storage device may loose its compression ability entirely. Though metal components may be used to heighten ejection mechanism life, this entails additional cost of more expensive components and more complex assembly.
Another disadvantage of compressed energy type devices is that in some implementations, the compact disk itself may bear the force of the compression. When this is the case, warping and other damage to the compact disk is possible thereby reducing or destroying the compact disk for its intended purpose.
Though compressed energy devices used with a sliding tray or other carrier to hold the compact disk are effective for many implementations, such configurations are not usually cost effective for retail packaging of music CDs, computer software on CD-ROMs, and other mass distributions of disk-shaped media. One usually finds compressed energy devices used in conjunction with trays on low-end CD-ROM drives or applications where the unit 21 cost of the finished product can support the added cost entailed by utilizing a relatively 22 complex and expensive ejection mechanism assembly.
What is needed is an ejection mechanism that will not use compressed energy devices where compression is long-term, yet still provide ejection of a carrier or other holding means having a compact disk placed therein. Such an ejection mechanism needs to be inexpensive to manufacture and easy to assemble as part of a case used for retail packaging and permanent storage of a compact disk. It would be advantageous in many circumstances to design such a case so that it may be integrated in existing assembly machinery to provide easier market integration. It would be of further benefit if such a case could be operated so as to give convenient one-handed access to a compact disk.